The End of Days
by acceptable
Summary: Everything had been geared up to The End Of Days, whether it was preventing it or trying to bring it about. But had anyone thought about what might happen after? A continuation of Hex.
1. Chapter 1

So, season 2 is over and does anyone know if there's going to be a season 3? There'd better be!  
Anyway I'm sorryI haven't really done any Hex fanfiction for ages but I'm now starting this one and I will continue my other as well, I promise!  
Please review and tell me what you think.  
Not that much happens in this chapter but it does liven up a bit later on, I promise! And a certain gorgeous looking male makes an overdue return next chapter!  
Hope you all like!  
...

Autumn-371

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****The End Of Days**

**Chapter 1**

'Couldn't the two of them get a room?' Thelma thought moodily, 'I mean it's the _end of days_, whatever that means, and all they have on their minds is each other!'

She got up from her uncomfortable perch on the cold rock, "and it's no doubt mossy as well, being my luck" Thelma grumbled, snorting in annoyance as her voice failed to disturb the two lovebirds intertwined and oblivious to the outside world.

She twisted her head around to see if her dazzling white dress had succumbed to any moss stains. Smoothing down the fabric, Thelma was gratified to see that something, at least, was going her way today.

She wiggled her shoulders, watching her wings flutter in response. 'Not exactly the most appropriate get up for the moment.' she thought wryly.

Still it had been fun being an angel, Thelma remembered with glee, Roxanne had lapped up her every word and would have done anything for her. Thelma pouted slightly; she could have exploited that so much more than she had.

Then with a shocked glance back at where Medenham stood, hidden by the trees, but no doubt still wreathed in flames, Thelma realised that Roxanne was probably dead. 'Because of what I asked her to do.' Thelma whispered, feeling tears spring up in her eyes.

No doubt about it, when Thelma had been alive, Roxanne had been a bitch, plain and simple. However, Thelma had seen the change in her and recognised that people could change. Roxanne had even told her that she had cleaned her bench.

Suddenly wanting to focus on something else, Thelma wrenched her thoughts back to the present.

"Hey!" she shouted, reaching for a nearby branch and going over to poke Leon in the shoulder.

There was a grunt of pain from Leon and a murmur of protest from Ella as the two of them broke apart, Ella hissing as the movement jarred her wound.

"Hey, Hi! Remember me?" Thelma stood over them with her arms crossed.

Ella leant back against the tree, sighing, and Leon said in exasperation, "Yes Thelma, unfortunately we do remember you."

"Hey! Unfortunately?" Thelma growled, "In case you, Romeo and you, Juliet, had forgotten we're really not very far from Malachi, who might I add will probably be pretty much invincible by now."

Ella flashed Leon an apologetic grin, "She's probably right." Ella reluctantly agreed, a flicker of worry marring her features.

"Probably?"

"Thelma," Leon began traces of annoyance evident in his eyes, "Shut up."

Thelma pouted again, rolling her eyes and started slumping down to collapse on the ground before remembering she was wearing white and straightening up again.

Leon turned to Ella, "Where are we going to go? You're hurt, maybe we should go to a hospital or something."

Ella smiled at Leon's concern but shook her head, "No, we need to find somewhere safe. Somewhere where we can hide while we figure out what to do next."

Leon's thoughts raced over the layout of the town, mentally searching for a suitable place, but came up blank. "Where?" he asked.

Ella opened her mouth but hesitated before she spoke, causing Leon to inwardly groan. Somehow he guessed he wasn't going to like this idea.

"I thought, maybe, we should go to Max's old place." she said half-questioningly.

Leon felt his throat constrict at the mention of Max's name. It was his fault that Max was dead. He should never have involved him. But then, Leon mused, where would he have taken Ella? Would she still be here if he hadn't asked Max for help?

He was jolted out of his thoughts by Ella's voice.

"I'm sorry." she apologised, "I shouldn't have…we can find somewhere else."

"No." Leon found he could talk, "No it's…it's fine, really. Anyway, we don't have anywhere else to go."

"Well that's settled then."

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Malachi looked down at his bloodstained hands, and felt a brief tug of surprise as he noticed they were tightly clenched. He willed himself to relax, revel, even, in what he had accomplished. However he couldn't dispel the nagging feeling that all this _end of days_ crap wasn't all it was hyped up to be.

Especially if it had ruined the beaches.

Jo hadn't understood. Of course she hadn't. She had actually been to a beach before; laid in the sun, splashed around in the sea.

Malachi sighed. Sometimes people forgot that he hadn't actually been alive for seventeen years like the rest of his succubi and incubi.

He wondered vaguely if there was time, if he could take a quick holiday to the seaside. Not like, Blackpool, or somewhere equally tacky, but like, California or…or Hawaii! That was it. He'd like to go to Hawaii.

The clicking of heels alerted him to Alex's arrival. Maybe Alex would like to come with him, he mused. Not Jo, she would probably go on about his 'duties' and 'what would your father think?'.

Malachi snorted. Like he cared what his father thought. It wasn't like he was here now. He'd just got up and left. No thought about what Malachi wanted. Not of course, realised Malachi, that he would ever admit he had wanted his father around.

"What's up with you?" Alex enquired, her voice carefully seductive.

Malachi forced his face into a smile. "Just contemplating. About what the world will be like now."

Alex gave a tinkling laugh. "They won't know what's hit them." she proclaimed gleefully. "It's our world now."

"Mmmm." Malachi agreed, not letting his annoyance at the word 'our' make any appearance on his face.

"So," she whispered coyly in his ear, "Shall we celebrate?"

---------------

Not being able to see has its good points and bad points, mused Mephistopheles. Of course, it wasn't like he only relied on sight. No, there were other senses too. It was just… seeing the world made him feel more connected to it somehow.

He sighed.

There was nothing he could do about it so why worry. Or, well, linger on it, anyway. Whatever he had been doing.

The fact remained, however, that he wasn't much to either side now. The boy, Leon, had whined at him to fight, but one final piece of advice was all he was good for now. Before he left. Permanently.

Mephistopheles had told Leon, the only thing worth fighting for was love. And he believed it. He honestly did. It just didn't mean he was stupid enough to fight for love when the other side was so much stronger.

Or at least, he hadn't been.

Strangely enough, Mephistopheles realised with some surprise, he didn't regret his betrayal. He had felt a lot of things during his punishment, but guilt was never one of them.

Anyway.

Love.

For one side it was a strength. And for the other a weakness.

This would be his advice.

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	2. Chapter 2

Well, here it is... the next chapter of The End of Days!  
Thanks to all reviewers! I replied to the ones that I could using the reply system thingy. You can't reply to anonymous ones can u?  
Anyway, the action starts to begin in this chapter and, as promised, a certain someone returns! Only for a lil bit in this chapter, but he will be a lot more involved as the fic progresses.  
Hope you like it and please review! 

Autumn-371

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**Chapter 2**

"Well this is…" Thelma paused, tilting her head on the side as she searched for the right adjective. "Lived in?"

"Mm hm." remarked Ella absently, picking her way across the clutter that covered the threadbare carpet in Max's old flat.

She collapsed onto the faded, squishy sofa and gently eased the bandage off her shoulder to observe her wound. To Thelma's surprise she saw it had already begun the healing process.

"How does that work?" Thelma demanded scowling.

Not, of course, that she wasn't pleased her friend was getting better. It was just so unfair. When she was alive she always took ages to heal. Thelma winced as she recalled an extremely painful incident that had involved a swinging door and her nose. She'd had to walk around with a pair of black eyes and a swollen nose for weeks. Alright, so, maybe she shouldn't have been eavesdropping, but the conversation had been a particularly juicy one, although she would have preferred the dramatic exit not to include her face colliding with the door.

Ella grimaced as she gingerly prodded her wound. "I'm an anointed one, remember." she pointed out to Thelma, "Fast healing is one of the benefits."

"Well I could have benefited from a little help, Thelma." Leon gasped for breath as he entered the room and dropped the book of Orokiah on a nearby table with a heavy thud. "This book's bloody heavy."

"It's got a lot of information in it." Ella informed him.

"Yet nothing that can help us kill Malachi." sighed Leon, plonking himself down in an armchair and leaning his head back wearily.

"Oh come on, its not that heavy." jibed Thelma, unable to resist the temptation to tease Leon.

"Oh yeah?" Leon retorted moodily, "I'd like to see you carry it two miles without a break. Plus I had to help Ella along too."

"For which I am eternally grateful." Ella cut in smoothly, to diffuse the situation.

Thelma mimed gagging as Leon managed a smile at Ella.

"I'm beginning to feel sick here." she grumbled.

"Thelma!"

"Alright! Alright! I get the message." she exclaimed, moulding an expression of mock hurt on her face, "I'm leaving! I'll go to find some clothes to wear. Something more appropriate for this whole _end of days_ thing we've got going on here."

"Okay but be careful." warned Ella, "We still don't know exactly what's going on out there."

Thelma couldn't help but roll her eyes at this. "I'll be fine." she assured the others, "I mean, I'm already dead. What more could happen to me?"

"Lets try not to find out." remarked Leon pointedly.

"Okay. I'm going now." Thelma announced, "I'll leave you two alone for a bit while you finish kissing and making up."

Thelma turned and tried to make a classy exit from the room. She was reasonably pleased with it but couldn't help glancing behind her to see if the other two had appreciated it.

'Apparently not', Thelma thought tetchily. Ella and Leon were already engrossed in each other and were paying no attention to the moody ghost's departure.

She clattered down the stairs and tentatively hopped out into the street. Everything appeared normal.

She peeked around her. The streets were deserted, 'Not that that was really a surprise,' thought Thelma, 'who on earth would want to hang around anywhere near this dump?'

The sky was darker than normal, Thelma noticed, as if the heavens were about to open and pour torrential rain on some poor unsuspecting shoppers head.

'Actually', Thelma mused, 'That wasn't such a bad analogy. If the _end of days_ meant a big old war between good and evil or whoever then the heavens were more than likely to open.'

'They probably wouldn't attack with rain though.' Thelma concluded, 'Not very dangerous. Unless, of course, you could drown Malachi and his cronies.'

Thelma grinned. Now that was an idea the book of Orokiah probably didn't mention.

Anyway, where was she?

Morgue. That was it.

Her own personal shopping mall.

Thelma rubbed her hands together in anticipation as she wondered what she would find today.

---------------

From his hidden position, leaning casually against an alley wall of crumbling bricks, Mephistopheles' empty eye sockets appeared to watch as the undead girl set off down the street and disappeared from view. Or from his senses anyway.

He raised his cigarette and inhaled one last time before dropping the burning end from his unfeeling fingers and calmly stubbing it out with a grimy shoe.

Now was the time for his final appearance in this show.

He approached the dingy building and silently pushed open the door, the peeling paint crackling and turning to dust under his hands.

Even without sight Mephistopheles unerringly and without any noise made his way up the stairs and paused on the landing. He could hear voices inside. Ella and Leon.

He clenched his fists, his mental equivalent of squaring his shoulders, and placed the heel of his palm against the door to the apartments living room.

A slight forward push of pressure and the door was swinging open, the light chatter stopping.

"You!"

"What do you want?"

The two exclaimed together.

Mephistopheles took a deep breath. "I have come to help one last time." he told them.

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Malachi stirred reluctantly, forcing himself to rise from the silk sheets and pull some trousers on. He probably had some work he was supposed to do.

The door swung open. "There you are."

Jo entered the darkened room, a slight frown flittering across her features at Alex's relaxed figure on the bed.

"Working hard I see." she remarked acidly.

"Oh absolutely." Malachi returned smoothly.

"Someone's here to see you."

It was something in Jo's carefully neutral tone of voice that caused Malachi to stop buttoning up his shirt and jerk his head round at the woman.

"Who?" he asked guardedly.

Glad she had finally attracted his full attention Jo nodded her head at the door. "You'll see. Through here."

Cautiously Malachi entered the corridor, which still bore the soot-tinged signs of the magical fire that had swept the school earlier, and fell into step beside Jo.

She paused at the entrance to what had been her room and gestured for Malachi to precede her into the room.

He took one step into the room, taking note of the drawn drapes, the flickering flames dancing in the grate and the tall, dark armchair facing away from him.

He took one more step in, turning his head slightly as Jo shut the door firmly behind him. For one of the few times in his life Malachi inexplicably felt the first twinges of fear creep into his heart.

"Show yourself to me." he demanded fiercely, trying to cover up his panic.

The chair spun around slowly, revealing a tall, dark handsome man. "All in good time, my son." he replied smoothly in strong tenor tones.

Malachi hissed his breath through his teeth as the full impact of who was sitting in the chair struck him.

His father.

Azazeal.

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	3. Chapter 3

Sorry I haven't updated for a while. Life's been a bit hectic - been working hard and playing even harder! Lol.  
Hope you all like and thanx for reviewing!

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**Chapter 3**

"Help?" Ella put as much scorn as she could muster into the word, "_You_? Why would _you_ want to help us?"

She stared defiantly into his unseeing face and mentally prepared herself in case her powers were needed.

"You'd both already be dead if it wasn't for me." Mephistopheles returned.

He turned his head and Leon felt himself pinned under the eerie, eyeless gaze. He suppressed a shudder and swallowed nervously. Leon couldn't deny the truth in Mephistopheles' words.

"He has a point." Leon admitted, "Maybe we should hear what he has to say?"

Ella paused, the memory of a previous misplaced trust still clearly vivid in her mind. But, on the other hand, Leon was right, Mephistopheles had helped them before, even though his purpose was unclear.

"Alright." she said shortly, "What is it?"

Mephistopheles inclined his head slightly in thanks, then nodded towards Leon. "I've told him before, thought no doubt it had little significance to him, that there was only one thing in heaven, earth and hell worth fighting for."

"What? Love?" interjected Leon, his thoughts straining back to their last meeting, not long before.

Ella frowned slightly, 'When had this been?' she thought, but Mephistopheles was continuing.

"Yes. Love. And believe me, though I have seen many things in, and out, of this world, I have come across nothing stronger than love. And…" He paused significantly, "…nothing weaker."

"Cut the philosophical lecture." Ella interrupted, impatiently, "If you have something to tell us, then come out and say it."

The was a brief pause, causing Leon to wonder if Mephistopheles was offended, before his mouth twisted in wry appreciation and he uttered the words, "Very well."

"I have no doubt that you will be planning to attempt to destroy Malachi and what he has created; to try to stop the impending fight, and the unfixable devastation that it will wreak upon your fragile world."

He didn't stop for an answer, Ella noticed with some satisfaction, 'That's right, Malachi. I don't give up.' she sent a mental message to her sworn enemy.

Mephistopheles' next words shocked Ella back to reality.

"I am here to give you the knowledge, which will enable you to do this."

"What?" Leon blurted, "You know how to stop this?"

A faint flicker of condescending annoyance appeared on Mephistopheles' features, "No." he replied, "I said I am going to give you the weapon that will destroy him, the weapon of knowledge. Whether you have the ability, as I have not, to use this knowledge to prevent the battle and restore the world to what it was, remains to be seen, and is entirely up to you."

"So what is this knowledge?" Against her will, Ella was curious, 'and desperate,' she admitted silently.

"Even evil can love."

There was silence following Mephistopheles' proclamation.

"Evil can love?" repeated Leon, fighting to keep the disdain from his voice, "What kind of help is that?"

"When you have seen as much of the world as I, and no doubt Ella, have, then you will begin to understand the importance of this simple fact." Mephistopheles seemed unperturbed by Leon's ready dismissal of his advice.

Meanwhile, Ella was silent, mulling over the statement. "So Malachi can love." she stated, a floating memory playing in front of her eyes, 'I already knew he could love.' she found herself thinking wistfully.

She shook herself from her thoughts. "How will this help us?" she asked, "Whom does he love?"

"Who does every human love?" Mephistopheles returned cryptically, "It may be so deep down we are not aware of the fact, or have it buried beneath fake anger. It may not be a strong as its reciprocal, but it _is_ there. In every human being. The love of a child for their parents."

Leon was still frowning, confused, when Ella let out an involuntary gasp. "He's back?" she whispered.

Mephistopheles nodded. "Higher powers prevented him from seeing his child until Malachi had played his part. Now Azazeal is needed for the battle… and to release the remaining Nephelim."

Ella accepted this information, her mind flicking back to the sentence before. "You said parent_s_?" she reiterated, emphasising the plural.

"I did."

There was a silence as Mephistopheles refused to expand on this, before he spoke again. "Now it is time for me to leave. For what, I don't know, but I do know that I have played my last part in this drama. Now, it is up to you to save us all."

Abruptly, but without seeming hasty, Mephistopheles turned and left the room, Ella and Leon too focused on what he had told them to give any thought to the probably impossible task of preventing his departure.

After a while, Ella sighed and stood up. There had been something nagging at the back of her mind, since the initial shock of seeing Mephistopheles. Something, she should have done, should have had…Something in case she had needed to protect them…

"Leon?"

"Mmm"

"Where's the knife of Orokiah."

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Malachi opened his mouth to speak, although to say what he didn't know. He wasn't sure if he wanted to yell and be angry, sneer that he didn't want Azazeal here, or maybe even just be glad his father had returned.

"What…?" he finally managed, hating the way he sounded so weak and scared.

"Malachi." Azazeal greeted cordially.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Malachi demanded, finally deciding that anger had won. After all, they had never been particularly close. They had always found it difficult to speak to each other without the conversation degrading into some kind of an argument.

Azazeal smiled bitterly, "It's nice to see you again, son." he replied genuinely, wishing that Malachi could see that it was true.

He _had_ missed his only son. After everything he had been through to have a child, it had hurt so much to be torn away just as Malachi reached maturity. To be summoned back to miss his son's finest hour in bringing forth the forces of darkness in the End of Days.

Unsure of whether to reply in kind or not, Malachi settled himself in a chair opposite Azazeal, his eyes never leaving his father's face.

Why _are_ you back?" Malachi persisted, "I thought you had to leave and never see me again."

Azazeal felt a burst of sorrow well up inside of him at the traces of hurt and bitterness his son had not managed to hide in his voice.

"I came back to fight this battle you have started." Azazeal replied, "And I came back to see you. Yes, it was forbidden, but you have done your part, fulfilled your destiny, and I cannot see the harm it would do to reunite father and son now."

He stood up, and Malachi followed suit. "I want to apologise," Azazeal stated, "Apologise for leaving you when you needed me the most, for not being there when you were in need of support and guidance. I'm sorry I haven't acted as a father should, but I want to begin now. Let us fight side by side in this battle. I want to see what you have become. And I want you to see how proud of you I am."

Malachi felt a fleeting stab of discomfort as he saw the unshed tears shining in his father's eyes.

"I want to be a father to you."

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Thelma pouted at her reflection in the mirror, her hands smoothing the front of the black top she had recently acquired. Twisting her body so her side was revealed to the mirror, she gave an admiring glance at her legs, encased in bell-bottomed jeans.

It wasn't quite Xena, she admitted, but it would do.

Much more appropriate than the white outfit complete with fluffy wings currently laying in crumpled heaps, strewn around her feet.

A loud snore brought her attention to the morgue attendant peacefully sleeping through his shift, completely unaware of Thelma's shenanigans with the bodies under his care.

Thelma gave the equivalent of a mental shrug and wove her way past the metal tables to the door, only making one small pit stop to sneak a bite of the morgue attendant's sandwich.

She was just swallowing when she exited through the swinging doors. A swooping black shadow raced across in front of her face and Thelma let out an involuntary half yell, half gasp, leaving her choking for a minute before she managed to swallow the last remnants of cheese and pickle sandwich.

Gasping for breath, Thelma looked wildly up and down the corridor.

It was devoid of any life.

She let out a deep breath, attempting to slow her racing heartbeat, 'figuratively speaking, anyway' she muttered.

Had she just imagined that?

Not wanting to find out, Thelma hurriedly ran down the corridor and reached the relative safety of the darkened and deserted streets.


	4. Chapter 4

Hiya, I'm really sorry about the hugely long wait for me to update! Hope you like the next chapter and please review!

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Chapter 4**

_Previously on the End of Days:_

"_Leon?"_

"_Mmm"_

"_Where's the knife of Orokiah."_

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_"I want to apologise," Azazeal stated, "Apologise for leaving you when you needed me the most, for not being there when you were in need of support and guidance. I'm sorry I haven't acted as a father should, but I want to begin now. Let us fight side by side in this battle. I want to see what you have become. And I want you to see how proud of you I am."_

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Leon paused for a heartbeat. "The knife?"

Ella nodded, "Of Orokiah. Where did you put it?"

Leon searched back in his memory in an attempt to remember where he had last seen it. "Ummm…"

"Leon!" cried Ella in exasperation, her fears beginning to be realised.

"No, no wait!" Leon tried to clam her down, "You got stabbed with it, by that fairy chick…"

"Yes Leon." Ella ground her teeth together, not wanting to be reminded of that failure.

"…And then you must have pulled it out, cause it wasn't there when I got back to you…Oh yeah! I remember seeing it on the floor!"

"On the floor." Ella repeated, "And is it still on the floor?"

Leon was silent, the gravity of the situation growing on him. "I didn't pick it up," he admitted in a small voice, "I don't remember noticing it after that, things were a little hectic."

Ella sighed, "I know," she said, calming her tone of voice down, "It probably wasn't anyone's fault, or at least it was all of ours equally." She dropped her head in her hands; only feeling a slight twinge from her now almost completely healed shoulder. "It's just that the knife is the only thing that can kill him. We need that knife, Leon!"

"Well," Leon was at a loss for words. He mumbled something then gave up, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know," he said helplessly, "There must be something…Hey! Maybe Thelma picked it up!"

A third voice floated through the slightly ajar door shortly followed by it's owner. "You will never guess what I just saw! Well, not _just_ saw, what I saw when I was in the morgue. Or, at least, what I _thought_ I saw. And maybe I picked what up?"

Leon's hopeful comment had finally penetrated Thelma's quick jabber of speech.

"The knife of Orokiah." Ella elaborated.

Thelma thought briefly, "Nope. Haven't seen it." She paused briefly to brush a possible speck of dust of her new top, "Anyway, I saw this huge shadowy thing…" she continued but Leon spoke up cutting her off.

"It must still be in there."

"Unless Malachi's got it." Ella muttered grimly.

Leon gulped, "That would be bad."

"Hey!" protested Thelma, "I was talking!"

"We have to try and get it back," decided Ella firmly, ignoring Thelma and standing up as if to go that instant.

"Woah, wait up a minute." Leon protested, "We can't just go walking in there, I mean Malachi will have the whole place guarded, or what's left of it anyway. It'll probably be completely burned out, it could be unstable or something."

"That wasn't a normal fire, Leon!" Ella said running her hands through her hair in frustration, "Medenham will have been left untouched by it. We have to get it back. Now! Before Malachi realises that we don't have it. Thelma! Will you stop that!" Ella finished on a shout at the ghost who had slouched on an armrest and was moodily tapping her foot on the floor, the taps gradually getting louder.

"Have you finished shouting?" Thelma inquired, "Because I have something to say."

Leon laid a calming hand on Ella's shoulder, "What is it?" he asked, turning to Thelma.

Thelma swallowed in a dry throat, "I saw a Nephelim."

---------------

Malachi was watching the shadows on the grass, watching how they seemed to part to allow his fathers passage. He glanced behind him at Medenham House, unable to prevent the unmistakable feelings of satisfaction and of pride at the almost tangible evil that surrounded the place.

That had been his doing.

"Keep up!" Azazeal called over his shoulder, his long strides increasing the distance between the two.

Malachi turned and walked quickly towards his father, catching up and falling into step beside him.

"Why do we have to come all the way out here to do this thing," he asked, voicing his annoyance.

"Because, my proud and impatient son, here is the perfect place for it." Azazeal replied calmly, "It's just a little further."

Malachi tightened his jacket around him as the biting wind picked up, "You have already prepared the place?" he asked.

Azazeal nodded, "Before your birth, many, many years ago. I always knew in my heart that I would be given a son to do this thing. So I prepared the place, it has been waiting for a long time."

Malachi let out a laugh, "Well it doesn't need to wait any longer. This the place?"

They were a little way into the surrounding woods at a small clearing. The edges were surrounded by upright blocks of stone, each with ornate figures carefully carved into them. The grooves were covered in a crumbling dark brown substance."

"Blood." Azazeal answered Malachi's unasked question.

In response, Malachi drew a knife from his jacket pocket and, walking to the centre of the clearing, raised it up above his head. The blade was covered in dried blood too but as Azazeal began to chant in an arcane language the blood began to drip down the knife, running in rivers down Malachi's hands.

A cold wind whipped up, swirling around the clearing as Azazeal's chanting grew louder, the trees bending in towards the centre, towards the knife's point.

As the chanting grew to a crescendo, Malachi thrust the blade as high above his head and crimson streams of light radiated out from it.

Huge winged shadows appeared, silhouetted by the light. They landed on the ground, the clearing now completely taken up by the misshapen figures.

Azazeal stopped chanting and gestured for Malachi to lower the knife. The red light disappeared, allowing the pale moon casting a silvery light over the clearing.

"Welcome." called Azazeal, reaching out his arms, "You are now free! Free from the abyss, where you were condemned to spend eternity. Now is your turn to take revenge upon those who imprisoned you." He cast his gaze around the creatures and now spoke in a carrying whisper, "I have a task for you."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

The darkness was impenetrable. It was as if a thick dark cloak had been spread over the sky, blocking out the stars and moon. Ella didn't know how far it had spread, but she guessed that the local people would be moving out soon. Fleeing in terror, from the unknown threat.

A little while earlier, when the pale moon had still cast it's sickly light over the area, they had seen tendrils of blood red light reaching out into the sky. With a feeling of dread Ella had realised that they originated from Medenham. The darkness had spread from there, rolling outwards like a bank of heavy fog, swallowing up everything it passed.

She peered out of the window trying to discern the nearby buildings, but no matter how hard she looked, all she could see was blackness.

Leon was pacing behind her, a look of worry on his face.

"So…He's released the Nephelim?" Leon asked nervously, "All two hundred of them?"

Ella turned round to face him, "It would appear so." she admitted.

Ever the optimist, Thelma butted in hopefully from her position on the threadbare sofa, "But maybe he only released that one I saw? I mean, before he only released Jez and a few other ones."

Ella shook her head, "That was before." she said, "Before the End of Days. Now he has to keep his hold on the earth and the best way to do that is to release them all."

"So now he's got an army." Leon muttered grimly, "How are we supposed to fight them?"

Ella smiled grimly, "In theory we wont have to. Not alone anyway."

"We have our own army of Nephelim coming to help?" Thelma joked.

"Well, they won't be Nephelim, but that's the general idea." Ella said, staring out of the window again and leaving Thelma and Leon to exchange mystified looks.

"So we're going to have our own army of, what? Valkyries?" Thelma skipped over to stand next to Ella. "Because _that_ would be so cool!"

"Yes Thelma," Leon interjected dryly, "Just for you, so you can drool over an army of beautiful women." He sighed exasperatedly, "Can you not be serious for just one second?"

Thelma pulled a face at him, "Alright." she muttered sulkily, "I'll just be lost in my fantasies for the next few minutes. Poke me if you want me."

"Can you two give it a rest?" pleaded Ella, "I know we're all stressed out, but we need to stick together. We wont be able to beat Malachi if we can't work as a team. He'll be on the look out for all our weaknesses. We can't let him win!"

"And we wont." Leon assured her, soothingly, "Now about this army…"

"It'll be Heaven's army" Ella stated simply.

"Heaven's army?" Thelma questioned, forgetting about her apparent mood.

Ella nodded. "That's what the End of Days is; a second battle. One that will determine the fate of the world."

"A battle between whom?" Leon asked, cautiously, unsure if he wanted to hear the answer.

"Between the Nephelim and Heaven. The first battle was long, long ago, when the angels were cast out from Heaven and banished into the abyss. Now they are free and want revenge."

"Well, you can hardly blame them for that." Thelma said. At the identical glares she got from Ella and Leon, she raised her hands in defeat and continued hurriedly, "But this battle idea is very bad. Very bad indeed. Anyway… moving on…"

"Well that's basically it." Ella said, shrugging her shoulders, "Malachi has provoked God into sending down his armies, in order to start the second battle."

"And we're caught in the middle of it." Leon added darkly.

"You said Malachi provoked God." Thelma interrupted slowly, "How?"

Ella hesitated, "I don't know for sure…"

"But you could take a wild stab in the dark and say…?"

"Well, in order to attract God's attention, Malachi would have had to make a sacrifice. A sacrifice that He would take notice of. Someone who was His creature. Completely and totally."

"Roxanne." stated Thelma dully.

Ella nodded grimly, "I believe so."

"But why didn't you say this before?" Thelma exclaimed angrily, "When we recruited Roxanne to help us. You must have known you were putting her into danger!"

Ella strode away to the other side of the room, running her hand through her hair, "I had to!" she insisted, "Roxanne was in danger anyway. And we needed her. We wouldn't have got the Stone without her."

"And fat lot of good that did us!" Thelma retorted, "It didn't get us anywhere did it? It's just like when you sacrificed Maya. Roxanne was just as much our sacrifice as Malachi's. And he's still not dead, is he? How many more people are you going to sacrifice, Ella? How many more innocent people are you going to kill?"

Ella looked at Thelma tearfully, "I had to." she repeated, "Can't you see? There was no other way."

Thelma shook her head in disgust and stormed off, slamming the door behind her.

There was silence in the room as the couple heard Thelma's footsteps clump down the stairs and finally the bang of the door closing.

Ella stared pleadingly at Leon, tears threatening to fall from her eyes "Please. You understand, don't you?"

Leon looked back for a moment, his eyes expressionless. Then finally he softened, and nodded slowly. "I do understand now. Honestly, I can see why you did what you did. It doesn't make it right, or fair, but I don't hate or even blame you for it. You're just as much a slave to your destiny as Malachi is."

Leon walked over to Ella and took her hands in his. "I love you, Ella Dee." he said quietly, "And I know that you're just trying to make the world a better place. Thelma will understand that too. She just needs time."

Managing a weak smile, Ella rested her head on Leon's shoulder, taking comfort in the feeling of security.

"We're soul mates." she whispered, "I've never felt so safe before."

Leon kissed her head gently, "I'll be with you every step of the way," he promised, "Together we'll beat Malachi. But now you should probably get some sleep. Your shoulders still not completely healed."

Ella nodded, "But what about Thelma? It's not safe for her outside. Malachi will be on the look out for us all."

"She'll come back." Leon assured her, inwardly praying he was right, "Once she's calmed down."

"I hope so." Ella whispered, "I hope so."


	6. Chapter 6

So...chapter 6 is here! It's really short, but I thought that since I hadn't updated for an age it was better this than nothing! Hope you like, and please leave a review on the way out!

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**Chapter 6**

Thelma exited the building in an angry blaze, the rickety door slamming shut behind her. 'Bloody Ella.' she thought fiercely, 'bloody Malachi, bloody Medenham,and bloody Azazeal for _starting_ this whole thing!'

She set off down the street her feet pounding at the ground, 'Maya died because of me, Roxanne died because of me, and I couldn't stop Cassie from dieing either, bloody good ghost I am.'

Her anger spent out and eyes blurring with tears, Thelma stopped walking and slumped against the nearest wall, not even caring at the grime and muck smearing onto her new clothes.

"I just wish things could go back to how they were." she whispered, "I wish Cassie had never seen Azazeal, never found the Canari…"

The gusts of wind were cold on Thelma's face, despite her ghostly status. She sniffed and wrapped her arms around her torso, feeling the first tendrils of fear set in as the darkness seemed to swirl more solidly around her.

'I should get back,' Thelma realised, 'It's not safe, and no matter how mad I might be at Ella, we have to stick together. There's no-one else…'

A whoosh of air passed over her head and she instinctively ducked, shrinking back against the building, a hand over her racing heart. 'What was that?'

'Not a Nephelim, please not another one of those freaky winged monsters.' she silently pleaded. 'Because that would be typical, just my bloody luck."

Listening intently, Thelma could hear nothing. The world seemed dead around her. She took a tentative step away from the wall, then two, then made it to the centre of the road and spun around wildly for a few seconds to check nothing was about. The street was empty.

Feeling a little dizzy, and more than a little stupid, Thelma stopped spinning. 'Well at least if anyone is watching I'll have amused them no end.' she snorted bitterly, 'Roll up! Roll up to see the super-spinning Thelma!'

Shaking her head, she managed two strides up the road before halting abruptly. Her previous fears had more than returned, her heart was pounding like she had just raced across the grounds at Medenham to make sure she got that last piece of chocolate cake at dinner. A figure was standing at the end of the road. They were half merged into the darkness, but a clearly visible person none-the-less.

A person with blonde hair, familiar features…

"Oh God." Thelma breathed. "Cassie?"

Suddenly, without meaning to, she found herself running hard down the street, towards the person who looked like Cassie, towards the person who _was_ Cassie. _Had_ to be. They'd shared a room for god knows how many years, and if anyone knew Cassie it was Thelma. It _was_ her.


End file.
